In a global economy beset by concerns over a growth recession, financial volatility, and rising inflation, countries in the Western Hemisphere have been among the few bright spots in recent years. This has not come as a surprise to those following the significant progress achieved by many countries in recent years, both in macroeconomic management and on the structural and institutional front. Hence, there can be little doubt, as this book argues, that economic and financial linkages between Latin America, the United States, and other important regions of the world economy have undergone profound change.

Preface

This book summarizes much of the analysis conducted by a working group on intra- and interregional economic and financial linkages in the Americas. The working group consisted of economists and research assistants of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department (WHD), headed by Martin Mühleisen and Jeromin Zettelmeyer under the supervision of David J. Robinson. The work was performed under the leadership of Director Anoop Singh, whose vision of a new way of doing cross-country work inspired the creation of this group.

In addition to the authors of the chapters in this book, significant contributions to the working group were provided by Natalia Berrera, Cleary Haines, Magda Kandil, James P. Walsh, and especially Kristian Hartelius, Padamja Khandelwal, and Álvaro Piris.

The authors of the chapters of this book wish to thank a large number of colleagues, both in WHD and elsewhere in the Fund, as well as discussants and participants in a departmental seminar on November 26, 2007, for their comments and inspirations.

A special thanks goes to Gloria Bustillo, Myadali Soe-Lin, and particularly Maria S. Gutierrez, who ensured the smooth operation of the working group with much efficiency and enthusiasm, and whose input was essential when it came to the construction of the website and the organization of the departmental seminars.

We are also grateful to Marina Primorac of the IMF’s External Relations Department and her team for their guidance through the publication process and support in securing editorial assistance. Claudia Ghersi and Eugen Tereanu showed great skill in arranging the charts and tables for this volume, and Andrea Aquino provided valuable assistance in the typesetting process.

We are particularly indebted to Joy Villacorte, who worked tirelessly with editors, proofreaders, and authors to get each individual chapter ready for publication. She made this project her own, and the book would not have been published without her great dedication and excellent word-processing skills.